Interview: Tom Gets Personal on The Talks

I came across a wonderful interview with Tom Ford on The Talks this morning.

The Talks is a weekly online interview magazine. The site founders, Johannes Bonke and Sven Schumann, talk to all sorts of cultural figures throughout the year. Their latest subject was Ford.

It is a very personal interview that offers some unique insight into Tom Ford, the man, instead of Tom Ford, the designer.

These are a few of my favorite bits:

On whether he has ever had a midlife crisis:

Yes. Leaving Gucci was devastating for me. Devastating because I had really put everything into that for fifteen years and all of a sudden I had no identity. “Who am I? What am I doing? I have no forum to speak to anyone anymore or to convey my thoughts or ideas.” Maybe I drank a little too much – living in London that’s a very easy thing to do. The emphasis in my life maybe switched to things that were not the important things. So yeah, I had a bit of a midlife crisis. I wish there was a better term for that. It comes to everybody, maybe in your thirties, maybe in your forties, maybe in your sixties or seventies, who knows. You get to the moment where you feel the clock is ticking and you are wondering if you are really getting the most out of your life.

On whether the glamour inherent in the life of a fashion designer interests him:

After just being in New Mexico for two months, I realized that I could really work from anywhere. I am really a loner after all; I am really not a social person. Because of my job people think I am out every night, but I really hate all that. I am somebody who likes to be alone and see some close friends. I am a shy and introspective person.

On his spirituality:

I am a spiritual person in an eastern religion kind of way. I learned that happiness for all of us is a switch that you flick in your brain. It doesn’t have anything to do with getting a new house, a new car, a new girlfriend, or a new pair of shoes. Our culture is very much about that; we are never happy with what we have today. We always think that we need something else to be happy.

On becoming the “Tom Ford” everyone expects him to be:

It takes me a long time in the morning to become the person that other people expect me to be. When I feel depressed and I have a bad day or something terrible has happened or I have to face something, I go through a very precise ritual getting dressed in the morning. In a sense it is armor; I’m building up a layer. If everything in my material world is in order, I will be able to get through it. That perfectionism comes from me being a Virgo. My inner world is related to my outer world. If my house is a wreck, I’m a wreck. If I am together, that’s together. That’s a kind of balance.

On the fact he doesn’t get hit on, ever…

Honestly, I don’t meet very many people. I am married but no one comes on to me, ever. It is like I don’t exist sexually. No one, no one… no one, no one flirts, no one comes on to me. Usually when people are personal with me, then they want to give me their business card at the end of the conversation.

great interview! It’s true that I admire him more as a person as a designer and always enjoy reading his interviews and keeping quotes. From his book I must have kept about 10 quotes that I loved!Anna recently posted…How To Style: Little White Dress

But really, this was possibly my favorite interview he’s done yet. So candid and heartfelt. I love the way he handles the excess glamour in his business and the simple beauty of his personal life. To be who he is and to have access to what he has access to and still appreciate the little things, that’s such an achievement.

This was soooo interesting. I love how really soulful this interview is. That armor bit made me want to hug him but in real life I would be so afraid to wrinkle him! He’s just so stunning. I can’t believe the bit about him and the no flirting situation. It is really kind of a huuuge surprise to me.

This interview really makes Tom Ford seem like a more accessible person and I really appreciate that.